Pipe shoes are utilized in various industries to support piping. Vibrations, for example, from the processing or flow of fluids, can propagate through pipe, pipe shoes, and supporting structure and lead to significant noise emissions therefrom. Occupational noise exposure is frequently regulated, e.g. in the U.S. under the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) standards. Noise abatement in cold insulated, ambient temperature and/or small diameter piping is frequently effected simply by insulating the pipe itself. Hot piping, on the other hand, especially in the 50 mm and greater diameters, presents unique problems for noise control because methods and/or materials suitable for isolating cold piping can be inadequate if exposed to the high temperatures and/or compressive forces in a hot pipe where it is supported on a pipe shoe or other support device.
Pipe shoes commonly include a base and a pair of axially spaced clamps for interconnecting a generally lower semi-circular clamp fixed to the base to a generally upper semi-circular clamp, so that the connected clamps support the piping. The base may slide along the planar upper surface of the pipe rack as the process pipe expands or contracts in length. The generally lower clamp half is welded to the base, so that the weight of the pipe is supported on the generally lower clamp half. Ears project radially outward from both the lower and upper clamp halves, and a pair of conventional bolts interconnects the mating radially-opposing ears to secure the piping to the pipe shoe.
The embodiments are detailed below with reference to the listed Figures.